What is the cost of child sexual abuse?
Children who are sexually abused may:
Blame themselves for the abuse- Feel hopeless, or have a sense of dread or doom
- Fear even healthy affection
- Have memories and bodily sensations that feel traumatising
- Feel a loss of relationship with their parents and family
- Live with constant secrecy
- Feel angry, even hostile
- Feel tremendous personal shame
- Fear being in relationships, even friendships
- Doubt that they are worthy of being loved
A 2001 study on child sexual abuse in NZ estimated that when health, mental health and legal costs were combined with losses in earnings and the loss of a person’s life potential, the annual overall cost to NZ was $2.4 billion per year.